Back To The Balcony

Bob Kerr is one of our most thoughtful, insightful, truly original guests and a man who loves the magic of Christmas. And yet, his favourite Christmas movie is Ernest Saves Christmas. Jimmy thinks the only magic is what kept the franchise going to this point. A funny review that takes us all back to our younger days when the standards weren't as high.

Guest Ronald Hae sees Rush Hour as more comedy than drama. Phil leans towards the suspense. Jimmy leans towards end of life therapy if he ever has to watch it again. 

Somehow this got away from Jimmy when Patrick Coppolino admitted that Manolis Zontanos was right and Back to the Future was the better movie. But he still found enough redeeming value in Hot Tub Time Machine to put up a spirited defence. And then Manolis starts definding it. Very funny episode with a couple of naturally funny people.

Guest Greg Dobrowski wants to talk about a most unusual movie, 1981's Time Bandits. it's kind of like the Wizard of Oz on acid. It's kind of like a lot of things, but is it a good movie? Jimmy has some strong feelings here.

Guests Ryan Sim and Mitch McBeaudry face off again to determine not just the best movie but the best movie franchise, Friday the 13th versus Nightmare on Elm Street. Jimmy found both movies so scary he hosted the show from under the covers.

Guest Keh Dee dips way back in the past to the birth of Hag Horror for the classic tale of sisters and fame with 1962's Whatever Happened to Baby Jane starring two of classic Hollywood's screen divas - who happened to share a mutual hatred in real life. Jimmy can't believe she chose a movie he's wanted to talk about for eight years.

Bob Kerr returns with a new kind of horror, 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Funny as always but there's also an interesting segment about whether The Terminator movies are the source of everyone's anxiety about AI. Jimmy's not worried but then he's still getting over the shock of moveable type. That's a really smart joke.

Chris Jarvie and Ryan Schnider join Jimmy to decide the best James Bond movie of all time, 1989's License to Kill or 2006's Casino Royale. Weird fact: License to Kill has nothing to do with Bond's license and outside of the card game taking place there, Casino Royale has nothing to do with the casino. Where do they get these names?

Quick, name another movie where bicycle racing played a major part? Yeah, Jimmy and Mario couldn't either. Mind you, Mario contends this isn't a sports movie, it's a coming of age movie. Jimmy's not so sure. Special guest engineering by Len Perdic.

What's the best movie about show business? Chris Wuergler thinks it's 2018's A Star is Born. Barry Carter disagrees, he says it's 2008's Tropic Thunder. You couldn't get two movies that were further apart yet they both make a convincing argument. And Jimmy will say? Listen to find out.

This could very well be the companion  episode to the one we did a couple months ago about the movie Clue (with Dave Sokolowski). This time Mario Bernardi praises Murder By Death and Jimmy finds it's not the comic gem he remembers. Whose right? You may be surprised.

We know our 100th anniversary was a couple years ago but thanks to Covid we had to put off our big celebration - until now! So much fun, so many great memories - plus ice cream cake and champagne. Stories, insights, jokes - even a quiz. What a great way to kick off season 8.

The gloves come off when comedians Gerry Hall and Chris Jarvie try and decide what's the greatest hockey movie of all time. Both are big sports fans - which begs the question why talk about the most under-represented sport in cinema history? According to Wikipedia, there's more films about bull fighting. Funny episode.

Guests Joel Van Vliet and Allie Moore insisit that Martin Scorsese makes the most intense movies - they just can agree about which one is best. Joel says it's 2016's Silence, Allie says it's 2006's The Departed. So essentially a movie about priests in Japan is more intense than a movie about infiltraters in the police and gangs of Boston. Jimmy doesn't say much in this one - they do all the work for him. Our most fast paced episode.

Comedian Dave Sokolowski considers Clue a great movie because it so seamlessly builds on the characters of the board game. Jimmy thinks that's a liability. Funny for what it is or not funny because of what it is? Give it a listen and tell us what you think.

This shaped up to be a cakewalk deciding which was the best spy spoof movie of all time. Instead, things got turned around in one of our funniest episodes with guests Ryan Sim and Mitch McBeaudry.

Is it about books or TV or censorship or ridiculous ideas? Mario Bernardi and Jimmy go back in time to talk about the movie based on a book they had to read in high school. While they don't reveal how they did when tested on it you get a pretty good idea based on their discussion. Surprisingly insightful.

Patrick Coppolino and Kristian Reimer join Jimmy to determine once and for all which movie has the worst special effects. Patrick Coppolino makes a pretty convincing argument for 1992's The Lawnmower Man. Kristian Reimer makes a surprisingly convincing argument for every tampered version of 1977's Star Wars - A New Hope. Most shocking reveleation: Patrick has never seen Star Wars.

Will anybody remember the Marx Brothers in fifty years? That's just one of the things Jimmy and guest Mario Bernardi ponder as they talk about a movie that isn't even the best Marx Brothers movie. So why not talk about their best? According to Mario, it's only for one reason: Tuttsi-fruittsi. If that doesn't mean anything you definitely have to give a listen. Fun and you might even learn something about some comedians who deserve to be remembered.

Once in a great while a movie comes along that makes Jimmy appreciate how good Love Story was. Chris Wuergler does it again with The Bodyguard, part Whitney Houston music video, part Kevin Costner trying to remember how many emotions he knows.